On what makes long-running season finales click and what does not

Spoilers ahead!

November 13, 2018 01:03 pm | Updated 01:03 pm IST

This is a studio promotion photograph showing the cast of NBC's Friends. Seen from left-right are: David Schwimmer as Ross Geller, Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green, Courteney Cox Arquette as Monica Geller Bing, Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing, Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay, Matt Le Blanc as Joey Tribbiani.  Source:  Warner Bros. Photo/ via Bloomberg News.

This is a studio promotion photograph showing the cast of NBC's Friends. Seen from left-right are: David Schwimmer as Ross Geller, Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green, Courteney Cox Arquette as Monica Geller Bing, Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing, Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay, Matt Le Blanc as Joey Tribbiani. Source: Warner Bros. Photo/ via Bloomberg News.

What does a long-time fan look for in the final episode of a beloved series? Is it closure for the multiple characters that played a part of your lives for so many years, a successful conclusion to a set of story arcs, or a final trip down memory lane with the key protagonists? In these times of instant outrage and gratification, a bad finale to a great series might be like biting into pieces of elaichi, after binging through an excellent biryani . As House of Cards winds up, after a rather long (and often tedious) run, we take a look at the final episodes of a clutch of popular TV series and try to decipher what worked and what did not.

How I Met Your Mother

STAR WORLD: How I Met Your Mother

STAR WORLD: How I Met Your Mother

If there was an award for how not to end a rather well-made series, HIMYM would win it hands down. The convoluted ending that showed the lead of the series, Ted Mosby, end up with his first girlfriend on the show, Robin, would have perhaps made sense, if the show lasted only three seasons. However, by season 9, Robin had dated and married Barney, with a whole season set in the wedding and the Ted-Robin romance was all but forgotten. To be fair, the last episode is not bad, though the last few minutes make it perhaps the worst way to end a once-beloved show.

Breaking Bad

This image released by AMC shows businesswoman Lydia Rodarte-Quayle, played by Laura Fraser, left, and Jesse Pinkman, played by Aaron Paul, in a scene from 'Breaking Bad.'  Paul was nominated for a Golden Globe for best supporting actor in a series, mini-series or TV movie for his role in the series on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2013.  The 71st annual Golden Globes will air on Sunday, Jan. 12.(AP Photo/AMC, Ursula Coyote)

This image released by AMC shows businesswoman Lydia Rodarte-Quayle, played by Laura Fraser, left, and Jesse Pinkman, played by Aaron Paul, in a scene from "Breaking Bad." Paul was nominated for a Golden Globe for best supporting actor in a series, mini-series or TV movie for his role in the series on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2013. The 71st annual Golden Globes will air on Sunday, Jan. 12.(AP Photo/AMC, Ursula Coyote)

From its very first episode, you do realise that the protagonist Walter White will be meeting his end when the series concludes. However, the way we get there is what makes Felina , the last episode of the series, so good. After losing a ton of his money to a white supremacist, getting his brother-in-law Hank killed and attacking his wife, Walter White gets to find some closure to his story. He admits to his wife that he enjoyed what he did, ensures that trusted aide Jesse Pinkman gets his freedom and can start a new life. The admissions, the final action sequences and the last shot of Walter White aka Heisenberg lying dead all alone in a lab, make it more poignant and oddly satisfying. Walt is pure evil by now and gets some redemption for all his deeds by letting Jessie Pinkman free. We also see that Walt’s family has moved on without him. It offered a great end to a superbly-told series.

Friends

In hindsight, Friends was perhaps not such a great show. However, in a country starved of good English language series in the pre-streaming era, Friends was and remains a classic. The Friends finale delivers the goods in some aspects, the long-running Ross-Rachel ‘will they, won’t they’ romance gets a happy ending, Monica and Chandler get a set of babies, while like the third wheel in a relationship, the character arcs of Joey and Phoebe are ignored. The plotline, involving airport chases and the like is not very engaging and looks very rushed for a show that survived 10 seasons focussing on a group of people, with no other set of friends.

The Office

The Office on Star World

The Office on Star World

It was easily one of the best-loved sitcoms of the past decade. Showcasing the life and times of a small paper company in Scranton, The Office made us fall in love with its oddball characters, the occasional relationships, competitive colleagues and so on. After Steve Carell, who played the lovable and crazy Michael Scott exited in the seventh season, the show tanked a bit. However, the final season picked up and the finale was a bit emotional, got viewers a reunion of the cast, including the side characters, and had a conclusion that would please everyone. In one of the best lines of the show, Andy Bernard delivers the punchline towards the end saying, “I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you’ve actually left them,” that is bound to make viewers a little sad and nostalgic. Michael Scott’s return and Dwight’s reaction to the same also ensure that the conclusion of The Office was extremely satisfactory. Everyone, from the primary set to the rest of the crew, gets a chance to stay goodbye.

House of Cards

This image released by Netflix shows Robin Wright in a scene from the final season of 'House Of Cards.' (David Giesbrecht/Netflix via AP)

This image released by Netflix shows Robin Wright in a scene from the final season of "House Of Cards." (David Giesbrecht/Netflix via AP)

When it started out, House of Cards was an excellent political thriller. It traced the journey of political operative Frank Underwood and his wife Claire from relative obscurity to the American presidency. Kevin Spacey occasionally talked to the audience about his diabolical plans and that kept the audience riveted. There were plenty of parallels drawn between the lead couple and the Clintons. However, the show began to go off the rails in the third season, and that has resulted in a train wreck of a last season and finale. Of course, the ouster of Kevin Spacey from the cast, following multiple accusations of sexual misconduct did play a part. The main thread running across the penultimate season is the murder of Frank Underwood and the people behind it. The many victims of Underwood’s dramatic rise and fall are forgotten, there are long-drawn hushed conversations, and Robin Wright appearing very awkward as she breaks the fourth wall and talks to the audience. There is no sense of closure, in terms of the story or the characters. All other seasons had plenty of cliffhangers, that kept the audience engaged. This season, barring random references to a nuclear device, most of the action is comprised of good-looking rich people, in Washington DC, talking and threatening each other in beautiful homes. By the end of the show, one is hardly invested in it and the final revelation that Frank Underwood was murdered by his right-hand man, Doug Stamper, hardly raises an eyebrow.

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